Brazil

• Tuesday, December 11th 2012 - 19:04 UTC

  Atypical BSE case detected among grass fed cattle in south Brazil

  

  A scientific commission from the World Organization for Animal Health, OIE, will commence in February to study the case of atypical Bovine Spongiform Encephalopathy, BSE, reported in the south of Brazil among a herd of animals fed on grassland.

• Tuesday, December 11th 2012 - 16:27 UTC

  The Economist and President Rousseff clash over ‘Brazil cost’ and Mantega

  

  President Dilma Rousseff reiterated she wouldn’t be influenced by The Economist magazine’s call for her to oust Finance Minister Guido Mantega after a growth report that fell short of government forecasts.

• Tuesday, December 11th 2012 - 05:52 UTC

  Brazilians take to the streets to protest corruption and support Judges

  

  Thousands of Brazilians took to the streets on Sunday to demand a tough stance against corruption and celebrate the recent sentencing of influential politicians who were involved in money scandals during the first government of President Lula da Silva.

• Monday, December 10th 2012 - 20:05 UTC

  Brazil plans to invest 26bn dollars in four years to modernize ports

  

  Brazil's government has unveiled plans to invest 54.2 billion Reais (approx 26 billion dollars) over the next four years to modernize the country's ports, whose high costs and notorious delays are eroding the country’s competitive edge.

• Monday, December 10th 2012 - 19:46 UTC

  BOT Turks and Caicos Islands former premier on the run since 2009 arrested in Brazil

  

  The former jet-setting premier of the British Overseas Territory Turks and Caicos Islands has been arrested in Brazil after disappearing a few years ago. Michael Misick was detained last Friday at the Santos Dumont Airport in Rio de Janeiro, governor spokesman Neil Smith said.

• Friday, December 7th 2012 - 05:46 UTC

  Brazil confirms Venezuela’s Chavez will be absent from the Mercosur summit

  

  Venezuelan president Hugo Chavez will not be attending the Mercosur summit on Friday as had been previously announced, announced on Thursday the Brazilian Foreign ministry which is hosting the event.

• Friday, December 7th 2012 - 05:22 UTC

  Brazil helped by good weather heading for record soybean and corn crops in 2012/13

  

  Brazil held forecasts for a record 2012/2013 soybean crop with the latest estimate from Conab, the Brazilian crop bureau, at 82.6m tons, towards the top of the range of 80.1m-83m tons previously anticipated and representing a jump of more than 20% year on year.

• Friday, December 7th 2012 - 02:18 UTC

  Brazil central bank expected to keep interest rates low for a ‘prolonged period’

  

  The Brazilian central bank indicated it will keep interest rates at their current level for an extended period given favourable signs for the inflation outlook.

• Thursday, December 6th 2012 - 21:44 UTC

  Mercosur (as Unasur) ratifies the suspension of Paraguay until at least April

  

  Mercosur Foreign ministers announced in Brasilia on Thursday that the suspension of Paraguay from the group stands at least until the coming presidential election on April 2013.

• Thursday, December 6th 2012 - 07:57 UTC

  Brazil anticipates Mercosur summit will confirm Paraguay’s suspension stands

  

  Paraguay must continue suspended from Mercosur following the group’s presidential summit on Friday, anticipated the head of the Latin American desk from the Brazilian Foreign ministry, Antonio Jose Ferreira Simoes.